


Journey

by RageHappyThunder



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Journey AU, M/M, Slight Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-31 21:33:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RageHappyThunder/pseuds/RageHappyThunder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Joelay terms, I could see Ray having an abnormally short scarf for his age, and Joel having an extremely large one. Joel usually having to catch Ray from plummeting to his death, because the idiot tries to keep up with Joel.<br/>Set in an AU where the journey civilization is still in tact, so any buildings that are like underground are intact, they live normally, but still can’t talk and can only use their pings to communicate. Fuck.<br/>Also, look at the PS3 game Journey so you know what the beings look like or watch the Burnie and Ray play Journey. </p>
            </blockquote>





	Journey

They met behind a building. Ray was by himself, his red and gold cloak worn and torn at the hem by his feet. Eyes white and glowing and healthy, examining the walls looking at pictures, when he suddenly felt the helm of his cloak get lifted up. Blushing, embarrassed, he jumped away and looked at the being in front of him. He looked just like him but was taller, his cloak a bright red and the gold around it was absolutely glowing. His scarf was so long Ray was certain he could wrap himself around it about 8 times and still have some of it left over. Ray slowly walked around him, looking at his scarf, it was so long but he was so young, how could this be even possible? Amused, the being turned around to face Ray, bent forward a bit and squinted his eyes. He pinged and left, Ray taking the hint and following, only for the other one to put his hands on Ray’s shoulder and he pinged. He paused. He left. Ray stayed. A few seconds later, he arrived again with a stick and with it, marked the sand in front of Ray with a few letters. Joel. Ray took the stick and marked his own name on the sand. Joel pinged at Ray happily and Ray did the same.

Joel took Ray’s scarf in his hand and pinged, asking a silent question. The younger of the two looked to the side, embarrassed. His scarf was small, but he wasn’t a child, it was an oddity, but Ray could keep on living. He just couldn’t float for a long time like the rest of the civilization could.  At least this Joel fellow was an oddity like him. One with a scarf way to short, and one with it too long.

Joel took a piece of his scarf in his hand, he then held the helm of Ray’s cloak in the other. Joel pinged his symbol out at Ray and the shorter of the too could feel his aura all around him. It was warm, it felt like the sun.

Ray’s cloak was fixed, no longer torn and worn at the feet, fibers intact and Ray felt like he couldn’t repay this stranger at all.

Joel turned to leave, and Ray ran in front of him. He bowed a thank you, Joel ruffled the top of Ray’s head to symbolize that it was no big deal. Joel scarf was just a bit shorter now, but it wasn’t like it made a difference.

Joel bent at the knees, about to jump into the sky and float away, when he saw a light from the corner of his eyes. So he stopped and looked behind him, Ray was there, looking a tad embarrassed, a sense of want in his eyes. Ray pinged in a rapid session. Joel looked confused, Ray pinged again, his symbol reaching Joel’s face an disappearing, he then pointed at Joel’s scarf and then his own. He pointed to the distance and pinged again.

Race?

Joel smiled and nodded his head in an ‘Okay’ manner. Certain he’d win. Look at his scarf! Joel could float on for hours, and Ray would be lucky to get a few feet with how big his scarf was.   
Ray looked at Joel and lifted up his hand and started to count down with his fingers. Three. Two. One. They were off, Ray actually in a lead, the kid seemed to have better joints than Joel did, they both reached a fury of red banners at the same time, both using the fabric to propel them upward, high like they were both Icarus, both trying to reach the sun but hoping for a better fate than to crash and burn like in the myth. Joel was winning now, but Ray was right behind him. Joel slowed down to give the kid hope that he’d win, Ray was to the side of Joel and he pointed at the town square, there was a blueish light that erupted from the white pavement, and line that was somewhat straight. Joel let his aura radiate and fill Ray with warmth. That was the finish line.

So Joel slowed down, and when Ray’s feet touched the pavement, the look on his eyes, the way he seemed to glow with triumph, far surpassed the feeling of winning.

Joel felt a warmth inside of him.

Races became a habit. Everyday they would meet up behind a building, granted that their duties were fulfilled, and they would race. Once, Joel brought fruit and they climbed a sand mountain and just watched the small city like village below them bustle about. Ray eating the fruit eagerly and it made Joel wonder if the reason why Ray’s scarf was so small was because he didn’t eat enough. Maybe he was sick. Maybe he was hurt. Maybe he was just strange. Strange like Joel.

Once they were having their mock picnic and Ray cuddled up to Joel. Taken by surprise, but accepting, Joel summoned his scarf and draped it over Ray, they watched the sun go down and then they hurried off to home, separate homes of course. Desert nights were brutal.

The next morning, Joel jumped out his window and floated downward, walking past the beings like him and pinging a light sorry when he’d accidently hit them. He ran to his usual spot where he’d meet Ray. He was surprised to find him on the ground, his hands moving around in the sand, digging a hole and covering it up again. He made pictures and lines and designs that took Joel’s breath away. Ray spotted him from behind and quickly covered up his sand drawings. Joel pinged in a rapid session, his symbol getting bigger then smaller with each ping, making it pulse in the air. He then dropped down to his knees and took Ray’s hand in his own grasping it lightly. He lazily took the hand and put it around the sand. It was soothing to Ray, and eventually he calmed down, and now less embarrassed and more confident, he reclaimed his hand and took Joel’s, making the older make a design in the sand. With Ray’s hand guiding his, Joel took the opportunity to look at the determination in Ray’s face. Ray then looked at Joel and motioned to the set of line in front of him.

It looked like a flower Joel once saw on a cactus.   
A few weeks later, Ray was the proud owner of a cactus flower. Wearing it on the top of his head, he fastened it under his cloak. The thorn stuck in Joel’s hand was worth the light in Ray’s eyes. (Granted Ray’s eyes lit a bright white regardless of the flower, but let’s let Joel dream.)

One day, long after the flower died and Ray insisted on a funeral for it, Joel noticed Ray’s cloak was torn again. This time, on the side.   
This time, the bright red cloak was a bit duller and Joel could have sworn Ray’s scarf got shorter. Just a centimeter, but it made a difference. Joel pinged a concern, bending forward to get a look at the cloak, Ray tried to shift away but Joel was to fast, gripping the cloth in his hand and looking under it, Ray’s arm was cut a bit and bleeding. Ray was pinging away furiously. Joel pinged once, his symbol engulfing the air around them. He took a fist full of the torn cloth in one hand and gracefully placed a warm hand on Ray’s wound. He glowed for a second, both of them did. Ray’s wound healed, his cloak healed too. (To make Joel happy, and to make him sleep better at night, he made Ray’s scarf a bit bigger, but not big enough so the younger would notice.) Ray looked to the side, not meeting Joel’s gaze. Joel pinged in a rapid session and motioned his head to the finish line. He pinged again.

Race?  
Ray wasn’t embarrassed anymore. (You could say he was warming up to Joel’s help. One night he snuck up to Joel’s tower and sleep in bed with him, it was frightfully cold at night and Joel was warm. Plus he had enough scarf to spare, the wrapped himself and his young companion up, and the both slept soundly in the light of eachother heat.)

Race?

Just like any other day, they decided to race each other. The sun was shining a warmth down upon their village, their civilization, it was the perfect time to test their stamina. Today they had a different finish line, it was high above, on one of the towers a bit away from where they were standing. First one to get there won. Ray was getting very confident. Maybe today would be the day Joel wins. So the jumped from the sand mountain they were standing on, both leaping gracefully into the air, their cloaks catching the sun. Both of them floated. Naturally Joel floated longer. Naturally Ray was the one who fell first, but he aimed himself well, and he landed in some ribbon, he propelled himself upward, trying to catch up to Joel. Joel just keep floating forward, occasionally looking backward to see his small companion struggling to keep up.

It was the final stretch, and both of them were going at full capacity, bumping into others, but they just looked at them, knowing what it was like to be young and with energy. Joel bounded forward, floating upward and using the building as leverage, he was going to win. He felt the adrenaline, he felt like he was flying (well he was, kinda, he was floating.)

He heard a scraping against the building.

He looked behind him, Ray was slipping, falling downward, he couldn’t make it up the building in one leap. He had wasted his energy trying to catch up to Joel.

Stupid, stupid competition.

Joel lurched forward, he sent out a ping, one last call, one last attempt. He used the building to his advantage and propelled himself forward.

If Ray was going down he was going down with him.

He reached a hand forward, trying to grab a fist full of Ray’s cloak but he wasn’t fast enough, the fabric was elusive. The ground was approaching fast and Ray sent out his light, symbol hitting Joel in the face. Joel did the same. The closed their eyes.

They hit the sand with a dull thunk, the villagers around them rushing forward.

Sand was soft.

Joel opened his eyes and saw Ray still had his closed, he curled his fingers around Ray’s.

Ray was soft.  

Joel’s scarf was half it’s original length after that. Not from the fall, no, he’d endured much worse before. He had given some of his scarf away to Ray and now they both had it more or less the same length. Now the younger had a normal length scarf and so did Joel. Now Joel didn’t have to constantly worry about Ray’s safety, now they could both float for a respectable amount of time.

(Maybe it wasn’t an oddity that Joel had a large scarf and Ray had a small one, maybe it was just fate. Maybe they were just puzzle pieces looking for their match.)


End file.
